Speed control means for spinning machines



Aug. 13, 1935. G. R. TOWNSEND 2 -SPEED CONTROL MEANS FOR SPINNINGMACHINES Filed April 6, I935 \nventbf- 1 George R1 Townsend by 1 HisAttorney.

Patented Aug. 13, 1935 UNITED STATE s PATENT orrrcr:

SPEED CONTROL MEANS FOR, SPINNING' 1 MACHINES" e I V George R. Townsend,Schenectady, N. Y assienorj r to General Electric; Company, acorporation of New York Application April 6; 1935, Serial No, 15,14!

My invention relates to speed-controlling means or ring spinningmachines and the like, me particularly to means for automaticallyvarying the speed or the spinning machine while *i maintaining constanttension" in the yarn during the winding-operation, and has for an obiectthe provision of simple and reliable means to? varyingthe to give a:high operating efficiency.

It will be understood that in filling-wind operationsto which myinvention relates in particular,

- m order-to obtain the highest permissible open using-speeds whilekeeping tension on the substantially mnstant, it is desirable that atthe beginning of the winding operation, the driving motor should be at areduced speemfor example, 70% full speed; This speed 30 shouldslightly'increase as the ring rail advances along the spis'ndie andshould decrease as the raii'retumsi- During the-time in which thebase'isbe'ing'bdilt' up, which generally takesapproximately 40 minutes,the amplitude of this change in speedshould be gradually increasedand-at the same time; thebese speed should be gradmilly increased untilat the time thebase is completed the speed is varying between, forexample, 100% rspee'dand 80% speed. Ihe rem mainder of the'bo'bbin isnow built nplby winding conical layers on the spindle; and the speedchange obtained" at the end ofthe base-forming operation should bemaintained during the remainder of the 'windi-ng operation. It isa fur45 the! object of my invention to provide" improved automaticspeed-varying means tor carrying out thesbove cycle of-speed' changes.

In carrying out my invention in one form, I provide za control arm ormember mounted" for movement on a fixed. support and operativelyeonneoited to a speed varying device, Mounted on an element-of thespinning machine osci llat accordance with the relative oscillatorymovement between rth'rihgrail and the spindle;

i provide mechanism for operating the control 13 Claims. (cum-s2;-

member as the machine element oscillates; and means are provided drivenin accordance with the progressive relative movement between the ringrail and the spindle for driving the operatin mechanism to vary thereflect-o! the mechanism 5 on the control member. More specificailmlprovide a plurality ofcam means carried by the oscillating element of thespinning One of these cam means comprises a pivoted cam lever arrangedto engage a portion of a eontrol 1o arm supported adjacent theosciliatmz element and operativeiv connected toa speed varyinz doe vice.Another of the cam means is driven in'acieordance with'the progremiverelative movement between the ring rail and the spindle and arranged tomove thexcam lever about its pivotvto vary the efieot of the cam leveron the arm as the winding operation proceeds; The can: lever is providedwith a curved working su'riaee normally concentric with the path ofmovement 29 of the oscillating element'so that the cam lever normallymoves along the control arm without afiecting movement thereof. As theops eration proceeds; however; the cam Lever is moved. about its pivotby' the other cam meansto oper- 2;. ate the control arm seas graduallytoaincrease both the base speed-of the-machine andthe am piitude ofspeedzchan'ge whichoocuts during each oscillation. After a.pmdetermined'porhon of the winding operation hasibeen completed, themespeed-and the amplitude of speed change ate maintainedconstantthroughout the remainder of the winding operation. Means are also-provided for adjusting the cooperating relation of the cam leverandthexcontnol am so as-"to vary 3 themovement-imp'arted .to the oontml armby the twocam means during the winding operation;

For a more complete understanding of ,my' invention, reference shouldnow be. had 'to' the drawing in whiohiig. '1 .showS .oontrol .49: meansembodying invention applied to a typical ring spinning machine, and '2show a modified-form of speed-controimeans'enmody ing. my inventionapplied to a-diflerent type of spinning machine. s

Referring-now'to Figi Lion-purposes of clarity, only the essentialelements or the spinning machine directly cooperating with the eedway:ing means-are shown. In this particular meohine, the spindle 11) isfixed-i-n position', while the ring rail H islosci llated relativeto'the spindie as the winding operation proceeds. 'Gbvi ously, however,the ring rail may be stationary and" the" spindle given-a corre pondingmovement.

' spindle.

In order to simplify the drawing as much as possible, I have shown thering rail in a conventional manner as being operated through a lever 52pivoted at E3, one end of the lever being connected to the lower end ofa rod M the upper end of which is secured to the ring rail. The otherend of the lever l2 carries a weight 55 for raising the ring rail, andthe lever. i2 is operated againstf'the force exerted by the weight l5 bymeans of a flexible cable l6, one end of which is attached to asegmental arm I! on the lever [2.

As shown, the builder mechanism for oscillating the ring rail H relativeto the spindle it] comprises a builder lever l8 pivoted at 59 and havingan extending pin or roller Zilarranged to be engaged by a builder cam 2l; 'A suitable weight 22 serves to maintain the roller 26 in contactwith the working surface of thecam tl, It will be understood, of course,that the builder cam 21 as well as the spindle it are arranged to'berotated by suitable driving connections (not shown). connectingthemrespectively to an electric motor 23 which formsthe driving means forthe entire spinning machine." .7 mThe cable I6 for operating the ring.rail H is connected, asshown', to one end of the builder lever l8, auditwill be apparent that as the builder lever is oscillated by the cam ill,the ring rail M will be oscillated relative tozthe' spindle it. In orderprogressively to advance the ring rail along the spindle H] as thewinding operation proceeds, one end of the cable 48 is secured to a drum2 mountedona shaft 25 which is driven byagear 25. Thisgear 25 is inturn'driven by ar-wormil mountedon ashaft 28, to theend' of which :issecured a ratchetowheel 29. Arranged to cooperate with-thisratchet wheela fixed pawltfi so positioned thatas the. end of the builder lever israised, theratchet wheel 'will be turned by engagement with the pawl 39so as to'rotate the drum 2 5 in acounterclockwise direction,.therebylengthening the cable 56 and raising the ring rail.. g

It will be apparent now that the builder lever I8constitutesanaelementof the machine oscillating. in. accordance with the relative oscillatorymovement between the ring rail and the spindle, and that the-shaft 25constitutes an element drivenin accordancewith the progressive relativemovement between the ring rail and the It will be'understood that themechanism thus far described is old in the art and is shownforthepurpose of a clearer understandingof .the invention.

While any suitable variable-speed driving moto'r 2.3 may be used inaccordance with my invention, a three-phase, slip-ring induction motorisshown. The speed of this motor is controlled by means of a rheostat 36shown as having three resistances 32, 33, and 34 connected respectivelyin-the'rrotor. circuits of the motor and being variable .by means of arotatable contact device 35- having three arms cooperating respectively'with the resistances. ,As shown, the contact member 35 is normallybiasedby means of a spring 36 to a position in which all of each of theresistances32, 33, and 3 is respectively con,- nected; in the rotorcircuits, and thegcontact member 35 is adapted to be operated from theposition in a ,clockwise direction, as viewed in the drawing, by anoperating member 3'1, the other end of which is connected to a pivotedcontrol arm 38. The operating member 3? is shown for purposes ofillustration as a flexible cable, but it will be obvious of course thata chain, a

cord or a rigid rod may be substituted therefor.

lhe control arm 38 is pivoted, as shown, on a fixed pin 39 carried by asupporting member 40 which may constitute a portion of the machineframe. ivotally mounted on the builder lever i8 is a cam lever M, thepivot point of the cam lever being arranged in substantially coaxial relation with thepivot pin 39 when the builder lever is in the positionshown in the drawing. Adjustably mounted in a slot 52 in the control arm38, is a pin or roller 43 arranged to be engaged by a curved workingsurface M formed on the cam lever 4i. Both the slot 42 and the camsurface M are formed with a curvature which, when the cam ll-and thecontrol arm 38 are in the position shown, is substantially concentricwith the path of movement of the builder lever Hlabout itspivot ii). Inother words, each point on the cam surface 14 is radially equidistantfrom the pivot pin I 9.

Also pivoted on the builder lever 58 is a; bell crank lever 45, one endof which is provided with a pin 46 for engaging a portion ll of the camlever; 4i. Asshown, the other end of the bell cranklever is providedwith a pin '38 arranged to be engaged by a rotatable cam 59 secured tothe shaft 25.

It is believed that a complete understanding of my invention may now behad from a description ofthe operation. In the drawing, the apparatusisshown in a position corresponding to the beginning of awindingoperation, and it will be assumed that the position of thecontact member 35 is such as to insert sufiicient resistancein the rotorcircuits to cause the motor to operate at the desired minimumspeed. Whenthe motor 23 is energized byclosing suitable control switches (notshown), the cam2i will begin to rotate, and the right-handend of; thebuilder lever 18 will be raised, causing the ring rail II to moveupwardly along the spindle. .It will be remembered that the cam surface64 on the cam, lever dl is concentric with thepath of movement of thebuilder lever 68 andaccordingly, the cam will move along the roller 43without moving the control arm 38 in either direction. Accordingly, thespeed of the motor will remain constant during the first layer of thewinding operation. When the builder lever I8 reaches theuppere mostpoint of its travel, the ratchet wheel .29. will be engaged by the pawl38 and .the rotatable cam 59 will thereupon be rotated slightly in, acounterclockwise direction. This movement of the cam 59 will cause thepin '38 on the bell crank lever 45 to ride up the cam surface 50, andthe consequent rotation of the bell crank lever 45 about its pivot willbe effective to move the. cam lever All in a clockwise direction aboutits pivot.

It will be apparent that when the cam lever M is rotated about itspivot, the cam surface 44 will no longer be in concentric relation withthe path of movement of the builder lever l8. The control arm 38 will bemoved slightly in a clockwise direction by the rotation of the cam leverAll so as to decrease the .portions of the resistances 32, 33 and 34connected inthe .1'otor,cir-. cuit and the base speed will thereuponbeslightly increased. As the ring rail andbuilder lever oscillate, thecontrol. arm 38 will. be moved back and forth due to the non-concentricrelation of the cam surface Ml, causing the. speedto vary from the newbase speed, a maximum-.speedbeing obtained when the builder lever isinthe position shown. With each oscillation of the builder lever, thecam 49 will be further rotated so as to move the-bell crankzleyerfiandthecaml'ever H about their, respectivetpivotsl and thereby-increasethe; variation of: thecam lever-4.! from; its; concentric;

relations, V

1.As-. .the: winding operation proceeds and the cam. 49.: is; rotated;thepin: "48- moves. up:,the cam. surfacewill until it. passes overthe:shoulderbea tween the. cam surface; 5d anda cam. surface 512.. pointofithe winding operation corresponds: the; completion "of the:formation. of. the. base; of the bobbin indicated by the referencenumeral 52'. During the remainder: of the: windingopera.-

1110113111. which :the. portion 53 of the bobbin is wound; both the basespeed. and. the amplitude or speed; change. during eachoscillationorthe:

builder.lever and the. ring: rail. should remain.

constantiiand accordingly; the. cam suriace- 5.!

takeabthe form of a circlehavingthe. shaft. 215;

as a-center'; The speed of rotation of the. cam- 49 is suchthatlthe-cani will make approximately /fof a'coinplete revolution duringthe winding r er ii n- {and is' desired to' form a tip on the bobbin,

the speed change which is obtained during the formationfof-the base 52shouldbe reversed, i. e

thebase speed and theal-mplitude of speed change shouldgradually belreduceduntilatthe comple-' tion of the tip, the speedis rotating at.the'minir mum' base speedfwith no speed change. This speed variationmay be obtainedby providing the cam "45 with a. portion 54 the shape of:which corresponds to. the portion 5?];

" 'In. some cases it may bedesirable to adjust the speedvariatiohsobtaineddurin'g the winding may be movedalong the slot 42jwithout'changing.

theefiect of the 'cam surface 44 on. the control arm. However, whenrthebuilder lever l8 is in it'sfupper position, it will be apparent. thatthe. pivot points of the cam lever. Al andflthe control; arm 38 are nolonger in. coaxial relation... The surface). and the slot. 42. are'therefore no. longer concentrieand if the pin 43. is now: movedupwardly in the slot. i2, the contro1.arm-'38 willbe. moved in aclockwise direction to move the eenmc mem e 35} in av correspondingdirection,

andjfcutfresistance" out of the, motor circuit. It.

wilhbe, remembered that the upper and. lower positionsof the builderlever correspond respece y tively tov the conditions of minimum and maximum speedobtained during eachoscillation, and sinceadjustment of .the;pin- 43- varies the. efiect of the cam- M- on. the control arm 38 inthe upper. position without varying the. cam efiect in the:

1 lower. position it. will, be apparent that an ad:--

justinent. of the speed changeduring each oscil.-

lation 'is obtained.

In Fig; 2, Lhave showlnta.slightly modifiedformv oi. speed-changingmeans. embodying inventiomapplied to a ring: spinning. machine havinga..somew-hat different typeof buflder mechanism The. builder mechanismhereshown comprises. a

builder lever 55-pivoted on. a pin 55. andprovided.

with s roller positioned for engagement. by( a builder cam 58; Acable59, which oomfesponds;

tethe -c able.- I35: ofi'theapparatus showniin Fin. conneated to thevend-or a:.1eyer-50.a1so;pivoted cm the pin 56. andprovided. with a.concave slnface: Hi which isengagectby a; stud'GZ. on a.

in; segmental guidelways; E4 on the; builder: leverxsfitt and is; movedand pom-flonedbyaworm 65;, .Ihe wormrlii ismounted on a worms'h-aft ashavin am ratchet; wheel. E1; arranged to; be intermittently:advanced-"by a fixed-pawl 6.8.. in a. manner similar: to advancement ofthe; ratchet. 251 by pawl mm. the mechanisnnshown in Eigt. 1'.

rack: bar E3. ismoyedto. theright as: viewedin. the. drawing by the worm6.5,. the-.stud 62: moves. along; the. concave surface it, and the:lever- 60 moves. upward relative tothe buildenlever 55;. whereby theringrail of; the machine which; misunderstood; iii-controlled by the cable5!! will be. pmressivelyraised' as the winding of. the

bobbinproceeds. v e

Asapplied to: thistype of spinningmachinemy speedwontrol means;comprises. a. control G3: pivoted on a pin In. which is supported. by afixed member 1 I comprising. a. portion of; the. machine fram'e, acable:12: which controls a. suitable rheostat. in. the same. manner as thecable 31min builder lever. As shown, the control. arm Saris:

. provided vwitha pin or roller T6; which is adjust-r able; along a,slot. 111.. Pivoted: ona pin 18;; carried by, the builder leveri55, is:a second cam. lever. to having a portion 80.: arranged to. engage aport-1 tion 8,].- ofthe, cam; lever; 1.4; another'portion'of.

the cam levenlabeing provided with. suitable cam: surfaces 82 and..8;3arranged to: be. engaged-by the;

stud 62: 4' Q r It. will: be apparent. that when the segmental rack.6.3-. is moved to the right, the stud 61 wilt engagethe cam. surface 82torotate. the. cam: lever H! in a: counterclockwise direction-about itspivot 18= and. thereby rotate the. .cam. lever- 14;: in acounterclockwise direction. about. its, pivot. It will beunderstoodthatthe cam surfaces 82 and 33'. are given av configuration such as toproduce the'samegmovement of the cam lever I4. as: was: imparted to the;cam lever 41 by the rotatable camlazirr the mechanism shown in Fig-.1:.' Inase.

much asthe-operation. of the controlmeansshowm in: Fig.2 correspondsthroughout the: winding:

operationvto the operation of the control means:

shown. in 1,, the only change being. that the; rotatable cam 49. and thebell crank lever 45 of Fig-,. 1- are; replaced by the pivoted camlevenlB; in- Fig. 2 it is believed that a complete under standipgof theoperationvof the mechanism shown 2' may be. had: without describingthisoper'e;

While-I have shown a particular embodiment oh my invention, it will be.understood,,0f. course, that I donot wish to be limited thereto;sincemany modifications may be made: and; I, therefore, con-- templateby the appended claims to cover any such modifications as falls withinthe: truerjspirit and scopeof. myainvention. v

What I; claim as. new and desire to secure; Letters'Patent of the UnitedStatesis:

; Apparatus for c n r lling the p edier a ring 1 means driven" inaccordance with'the progressive relativemovement between the ring railand the spindle for driving said mechanism to vary the effect of saidmechanism on said control member. 2. :Apparatus for controlling thespeed of a ring spinning machine or the like, comprising means 7 for.varying the speed of the machine, a control arm, an operating connectionbetween said speedvarying means and said control arm, a plurality of cammeans mounted on and'bodily movable with an element of the machineoscillating in a'ccordance with the relative oscillatory movementbetween the ring rail and the spindle, one of said cam means comprisinga pivoted cam' lever having a-face engageable with a portion of saidcontrol arm to move said control arm and operate said speed-varyingmeans as said i'nachine ele ment oscillates, another one of said cammeans being arranged to move said cam lever about its pivot to vary themovement imparted to said con trol' arm, said second cam means beingdriven in accordance with the progressive :relative movement between thering rail and the spindle.

3. Apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machine or thelike, comprising means for varying the speed of themachine, a controlarm, an operating connection between said speedvarying means and saidcontrol arm, a cam lever pivotally mounted on an element of the machineoscillating in accordance with the relative oscillatory movement betweenthe ring rail and the spindle, said cam lever having a portionengageable with a portion of the control arm' and normally' positionedtoimpart zero movement thereto as said machine element oscillates, and cammeans driven in accordance with the progressive relative movementbetween the ring rail and the spindle formoving said cam lever about itspivot, whereby said cam lever moves'said control arm to operate saidspeed-varying means-as saidmachine element oscillates.

4. Apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machine or thelike, comprising means for varying the speed of the machine, a controlarm, an operating connection between said speed-varying means and saidcontrol arm, a cam lever pivotally mounted on anel'ement of the" machineoscillating in accordance with the relaand the spindle, said cam leverhavinga' face engageable with a portion of said control arm and normallypositioned to impart Zero movement thereto as said machine elementoscillates,'and' cam means driven in accordance with the progressiverelative movement between the ring rail and the spindle for moving saidcam leveraboutits pivot, whereby said cam lever moves said controlarmto-operate said speed-varyingmeans as said'machine elementosci1lates,:said cam means being proportioned so as to increase both thebase speed and the amplitude of speed change of the machine during thewinding of a predetermined portion of the bobbin after which said cammeans maintains said base speed and said amplitude substantiallyuniform; I V

' 5. Apparatusfor controlling the speed -of a ring spinning machine orthe like, comprising means spinning machine or the like, comprisingmeans for varying the speed of the machine, a pivoted control arm,"anoperating connection between said speed-varying means and a movableportion of said control arm, -a cam lever pivoted: on an element of themachine oscillating in accordance with the relatively oscillatorymovement between the ring rail and the spindle, the respective pivotpoints of said control arm and said cam lever being substantiallycoaxial when said machine element is in one of two extreme positions,said cam lever having a portion normally disposed to engage a portion ofsaid control arm without operating said control arm about its pivot assaid machine element oscillates, and cam means driven in accordance withthe progressive (relative move-' ment between the ringrail and thespindle for moving said cam lever about its pivot, whereby said camlever operates said controlarm about itslpivot as. the machine elementoscillates.

6. Apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machine or thelike, comprising means for varying the speed of the machine, a'pivotedcontrol arm, an operating connection between said speed-varying meansand a movable portion of said control arm, a cam lever pivotedon, anelement of the machine oscillating inaccordance with the relativelyoscillatory movement between the ring rail and the spindle, therespective pivot points of said control .arm and said cam lever beingsubstantially coaxial when said machine element is in one of'two extremepositions, said cam lever having a portion'h'ormally disposedto engageaportion of said control arm without operating said control arm aboutits pivot as said machine element oscillates, and cam means driven inaccordance with the progressive relative movement between the ring railand the spindle for moving said cam lever about its pivot, whereby saidcam lever operates said controlarm about its pivot as the machineelement oscillates, said cam means having a portion for moving said camlever to increase both the base speed and the amplitude of speed changefor each oscillation of said machine elementdurin'g the winding of thebase of the bobbin, afterwhich said cam means maintains said base speedand, said amplitude substantially constant.

7 7. Apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machine orthe like, comprising means for varying the speed of the machine, apivoted control arman operating connection between saidspeed-yarying-means and a movable portion 01f said control arm, a camlever pivoted on an element 'of-the machine oscillating in accordancewith the relatively oscillatory movement between the ring rail and thespindle,therespective pivot points of said control arm and said camlever being substantially coaxial when said machine element is in one oftwo extreme positions, said cam' lever and said control arm havingco-operating portions one of which comprises a curved surface concentricwith the path of movement of said machine element and the other of whichcomprises a pin adjustably carried'in a slot having a similar curvature,said cam lever being normally positioned so that said pin moves alongsaid curved surface as said machine elementoscillates without operatingsaid control arm about its pivot, cam means driven in accordance withthe progressive relative movement between the ring rail and the spindlefor moving said cam lever about itspivot, whereby said curved surfaceand said pin co-operate to operate said control arm and saidspeed-varying means as said machine element oscillates. Y

8. In a ring spinning machine, in combination, a driving motor, aspeed-controlling device for said motor, a control arm operativelyconnected.

to said device, a builder lever, cam means pivotally mounted on saidbuilder lever and having an operating portion all points of which arenormally radially equidistant from the pivot point of said builderlever, said operating portion being normally engaged by a portion ofsaid control arm, other cam means driven in accordance with theprogressive relative movement between the ring rail and the spindle formoving said first cam means about its pivot whereby said first cam meansis effective to operate said control arm to vary the speed of said motoras said builder lever is oscillated.

9. In a ring spinning machine, in combination, a driving motor, aspeed-controlling device for said motor, a control arm operativelyconnected to said device, a builder lever, a pivoted camlever carried bysaid builder lever having an operating portion the surface of which isnormally concentric with the path of movement of the builder lever aboutits pivot, said operating portion being engaged by a portion of saidcontrol arm, cam

means driven in accordance with the progressive relative movementbetween the ring rail and the spindle for moving said cam lever aboutits pivot whereby said operating portion is moved out of said concentricrelation and operates said control arm as said builder lever oscillates.

10. In a ring spinning machine, in combination, a driving motor, aspeed-controlling device for said motor, a control arm operativelyconnected to said device, a builder lever, a pivoted cam lever carriedby said builder lever having an operating portion the surface of whichis normally concentric with the path of movementof the builder leverabout its pivot, said operating portion being engaged by a portion ofsaid control arm, cam means driven in accordance with the progressiverelative movement between the ring rail and the spindle for moving saidcam lever about its pivot whereby said operating portion is moved out ofsaid concentric relation and operates said control arm as said builderlever oscillates, said cam means being effective to move said cam leverabout its pivot so as to increase both the base speed of the machine andthe amplitude of speed change for each oscillation of the builder leverduring the winding of a portion of the bobbin after which said cam meansmaintains said cam lever in position to provide a substantially constantbase speed and amplitude of speed change.

11. In an apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machineor the like, a pivoted control arm movable to vary the speed, a pivotedcam lever mounted on an oscillating element of the machine, therespective pivotpoints of said control arm and said cam lever being insubstantial coaxial relation when said oscillating element is in one oftwo extreme positions, said cam lever and said control arm havingadjustable co-operating portions one of which comprises a uniformlycurved working surface with a radius equal to the distance of saidsurface from the pivot point of said oscillating element and the otherof which comprises a pin adjustable along a slot having a similarcurvature, whereby said pin is adjustable to vary the co-operatingrelation of said cam and said control arm when said oscillating elementis moved toward the other of said two extreme posi' tions.

12. Apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machine orthe like, comprising meansfor varying the speed of the machine, acontrol member mounted for movement on a stationary support, anoperating connection between said speed-varying means and said member,mechanism mounted on an element of the machine oscillating in accordancewith the relative oscillatory movement between the ring rail and thespindle for operating said control member, and means mounted on saidmachine element and driven in accordance with the progressive relativemovement between the ring rail and the spindle'for varying the effect ofsaid mechanism on said speed-varying means.

13. In a ring spinning machine, in combination, a driving motor, aspeed-controlling device for said motor, a control member operativelyconnected to said device, a builder lever, mechanism mounted on andoscillatable with said builder lever for operating said control member,and means driven in accordance with the progressive relative movementbetween the ring rail and the spindle for driving said mechanism to varythe eflEect of said mechanism on said control member.

'GEORGE R. TOWNSEND.

